At a pivotal time in America’s history, and with its 250th anniversary barely a year away, nearly 600 scholarly, cultural and civic leaders converged on the grounds of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to prepare for the nation’s semiquincentennial in 2026.
Representatives from 40 states and 61 Virginia localities, representing more than 100 cultural institutions, gathered in Williamsburg on March 24-26 for the largest-ever “A Common Cause To All” annual planning event. Hosted by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and Virginia’s American Revolution 250 Commission, the three-day convening — the third and final in a series — brought preeminent historians, jurists, writers and filmmakers together with museum and civic leaders to catalyze their planning to commemorate next year’s historic anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Brian Newson
The Colonial Williamsburg Fifes & Drums perform during the public preview of Ken Burns’s “The American Revolution,” during the 2025 “A Common Cause for All” planning event.
As the largest British colony in North America at the time of the Revolution, Virginia’s central role in America’s origin story was on full display throughout the event. This year marked the 250th anniversary of Patrick Henry’s legendary “Give me liberty or give me death!” speech in Richmond that galvanized the colony’s critical support for war against Great Britain.
Brian Newson
Carly Fiorina, National Honorary Chair of Virginia’s American Revolution 250 Commission and Board chair of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, offers “A Common Cause to All” keynote address.
“We do not say ‘America, Made in Virginia’ as a brag or as a challenge,” said Carly Fiorina, the 250 Commission’s National Honorary Chair who also serves as Board chair of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. “We say it because we feel a special obligation ... Here in Virginia, you are not simply making a journey to Williamsburg, or Jamestown, or Mount Vernon or Monticello. You are coming home. As the birthplace of our nation, Virginia belongs to every American. Welcome home.
Fiorina spoke Tuesday evening shortly before renowned filmmaker Ken Burns previewed his upcoming documentary, “The American Revolution,” co-directed by Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt, before a crowd of nearly 4,000 on a large outdoor screen in Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area. The nearly 30-minute preview included scenes filmed in Williamsburg, Virginia’s colonial capital where such luminaries as Henry, George Washington, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson once debated revolutionary ideas in the House of Burgesses.
“It’s particularly important that we use the time between now and the fourth of July, 2026, to put the ‘us’ back into the United States ...” Burns told the crowd. “We’ve devoted our entire professional lives to trying to figure out how to tell good stories about American history, and there is no story more important or more riveting than this one.”
Brendan Sostak
Ken Burns speaks at the 2025 “A Common Cause for All” planning event held at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation March 23-25, 2025.
At the conclusion of the free screening, fireworks lit up the sky against the background of live music played by The Colonial Williamsburg Fifes & Drum.
Throughout the Common Cause event, an array of prizewinning thought and change leaders offered insights into the significance of this historic time and place for Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs. Top of mind for many were the rifts across the nation’s contemporary social and political landscapes — mirroring the acrimony and conflict that characterized America’s founding era — and the potential to draw Americans closer together by sharing a complete and honest history of the nation.
“I think that the legacy of the 250th can, should and will be collaboration — that the way we can achieve impact is by working together, and by achieving impact, we ensure our legacy,” said Mia Nagawiecki, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s Vice President for Education Strategy and Civic Engagement, during her remarks to Common Cause participants.
Commemoration planners are now returning to their home communities across the United States with the perspective and practical resources they gathered throughout the event — in Fiorina’s words, to continue “the semiquincentennial movement.”
Brian Newson
Fireworks following the preview of Ken Burns’s The American Revolution” during the 2025 “A Common Cause for All” planning event.
Additional information about A Common Cause can be found here.
